The Michigan Court of Appeals has rejected the appeal of a lower court ruling in a defamation suit dating back to the heated 2010 election between Rocky Raczkowski and U.S. Rep. Gary Peters.

Raczkowski, a Farmington Hills Republican, sued Peters and Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer for defamation over advertising in the 2010 campaign that accused Raczkowski of "theft, fraud and conspiracy" in his business dealings.

The Oakland Circuit Court ruled against Raczkowski and he appealed to the appeals court.

In the ruling released Wednesday, the court said the gist of the advertising was that Raczkowski had been sued in South Dakota over his business dealings -- a lawsuit that remains unresolved today.

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"Thus, the trial court properly concluded that plaintiff was unable to sustain a defamation claim because he could not establish the falsity of the statements contained in the ads," the appeals court ruling said.

Raczkowski says the South Dakota lawsuit, filed in 2008, will be resolved in his favor in April, and that he may consider a further appeal of his defamation suit to the Michigan Supreme Court.

"It's something I'll consider," Raczkowski said Wednesday. "This is not about me because my vindication will come very shortly.

"This is about stopping vicious lies during the political season," he said. "I think there is a bigger issue than just this case and I want to see if there's any appetite from both political parties to address this issue or continue to flood the airways with falsehoods."

Raczkowski says campaigns need to advertise, but need to stick with comparisons of the candidates on issues.

"I have always been against misleading, false and negative ads," he said. "This opinion continues to perpetrate and allow for the demonization of political opponents instead of highlighting the important issues at hand."

Raczkowski lost the 2010 election to Peters in what was then the 9th Congressional District 49-47 percent in a year that leaned towards Republicans.

He is a lieutenant colonel on reserve status with the military and working in marketing and defense logistics, he said.

Peters, a Bloomfield Township Democrat, just won re-election to Congress in the newly drawn 14th Congressional District, an S-shaped district starting in Pontiac and ending in Detroit.

Congress is just back in session and expected to be busy with efforts to avoid an economic "fiscal cliff" before the end of the year.

However, a Peters spokesman said Raczkowski's original defamation suit was "frivolous and wasteful."

"Now that a second court has thrown out Mr. Raczkowski's frivolous and wasteful lawsuit, we hope that he will accept this fact and move on with his life," Peters spokesman Jared Smith said.

Contact Charles Crumm at 248-745-4649, charlie.crumm@oakpress.com or follow him on Twitter @crummc and on Facebook. More information is at oaklandmichiganpolitics.blogspot.com. Keep up with the latest in local news by texting OPNews to 22700. Msg & Data Rates May Apply. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.